Your domain name is your address on the internet. It appears on your website, your email, your business cards and your invoices, and it is very hard to change later. Here is how to choose well and register a Sri Lankan domain.
.lk, .com.lk or .com?
- .lk is the short, national domain. It signals a Sri Lankan business and is easy to say
- .com.lk is the commercial version used by many local companies
- .com is international and the one most overseas customers type by habit
If you sell mainly in Sri Lanka, a local ending feels trustworthy. If you want customers abroad, a .com can be easier for them to remember, and it is worth owning the .com version too, if it is available, so nobody else uses it.
Some Sri Lankan domain endings are restricted to certain organisations, such as schools or government bodies, and may need documents to prove eligibility. Your registrar will tell you what is needed for the ending you choose.
How to choose a good name
- Keep it short. Under about 15 characters is ideal
- Make it easy to say. If you have to spell it on the phone, rethink it
- Avoid hyphens and numbers. People forget them or mistype them
- Use your business name where you can, or a clear description of what you do
- Check it is not too close to a competitor. Customers could end up on the wrong site
- Say it out loud and check it cannot be misread when words run together
How to register it
- Pick a registrar. Registrars are companies authorised to sell domains. Compare the price for renewal as well as the first year, since some start cheap and cost more later
- Search for your name and the endings you want
- Register it in your own business name with an email address you control
- Pay and keep the receipt
Things to check before you pay
- Who is the owner on the record? It should be you or your company, not a developer or agency. If they own it, they control your website and email
- Renewal price and date. Put the expiry in your calendar, and turn on auto-renewal
- Contact details are current, since renewal and transfer notices go to them
- Privacy options. Check what your registrar shows publicly about you
- Transfer lock is on by default to stop unauthorised transfers
What happens after you register
A domain on its own does nothing until you point it at hosting and email. You need:
- Hosting where your website lives. See our guide to choosing web hosting in Sri Lanka
- Email set up on your domain, such as
[email protected] - Email protections such as SPF and DMARC so nobody can send fake email from your domain. Our free scanner checks them
Common mistakes
- Letting a web designer register the domain in their name
- Letting the domain expire, which can lose your website and your email in one day
- Registering with a free or personal email you may lose
- Buying many look-alike names you will never use
When we build a site, we register the domain in your name and hand over everything, so you always control your own address. Talk to us if you are about to start.
